The Immortal Flame
by zzz589zzz
Summary: In the year 2051, Team Berserker enters the IGPX for a chance at the championship title. But how far will they go before they break down on the tracks? Main pairing: CunninghamxOC Side pairings: JessexOC, DewxOC, TakeshixLiz
1. Chapter 1

Hi everyone! It's zzz589zzz here! I've decided to write an IGPX fan fiction, because this show does NOT get enough credit even though it is so wonderful! So I've decided to write one myself! :D please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own IGPX or any of the characters from the show. I do own Team Berserker and it's members though, so show some love for them :)

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

Welcome to the IG-1

"And it looks like this could be the final turn for Team Berserker ladies and gentlemen!" the crowd in the stands roared in agreement as Immortal Grand Prix announcer, Benjamin Bright, voiced his typical, loud opinion on the final race in the IG-2. On the tracks, two teams were facing off for the title of IG-2 champion and the exclusive spot in the IG-1 that year. As both teams turned the corner near the end of the track, all six of the mechs were still tangled in a struggle to the finish. Three of the mechs were of simple design, colored black and beige in a modern style; the others were all different shades of blue. Suddenly one of the blue mechs jabbed the beige and black mech that was holding onto it, sending it off balance for only a moment.

"Oh and it looks like Team Berserker's Juliet St. Marc is getting knocked around out there! Will the forward make it in time?" Bright shouted as the Team Berserker mech righted itself.

"Bright should learn to keep his comments to himself, the big mouth," Juliet grumbled, blowing a strand of stray black hair out of her face before tightening her grip on her controls, her brown eyes sharp with irritation. Before she could attack she heard a sigh over the communication system in the mech.

"Take it easy Juliet love; you need to shift into speed mode or you'll never make it," Aiden J. Taylor said, scolding his forward as he took out the teams opposing midfielder. Juliet frowned ahead of her since she couldn't give the midfielder her killer glare before getting a good grip on her controls.

"Screw you Ai. I'm gonna show Bright what being knocked around really looks like!" she said before rushing the opposing team's forward. Aiden shook his head at Juliet's brutal attack before glancing over as he saw their defender take out her counterpart on the opposing team.

"Well done Carmen. At least you are at the top of your game, unlike other members of this team," he said as a light, melodic voice giggled over the communication.

"Mais bien sur Aiden," Carmen Demonte said as she pulled her mech up next to his. "Shall we aid our dearest fille Juliet with her opponent?" Aiden laughed lightly before shaking his head.

"I don't think so. You know how Juliet is; she'll never let us live it down if we help her," he said. Carmen smiled slightly at her teammate's statement before looking towards her other teammate's mech.

Juliet let out a frustrated growl before letting her mechs arm pull back for the final blow.

"This is for the win!" she shouted before taking out the opposing teams forward, sending the mech flying behind her. "Let's end this guys!" she called over the com system before shifting her mech into speed mode, both Carmen and Aiden following her lead.

"And it seems like Team Berserker has pulled off another win! This last race gets them the IG-2 title and also guarantees them a spot in the IG-1!" Benjamin Bright said from his commentary seat. "Now ladies and gentlemen let's go down and interview the winning pilots!"

_**-IGPX-**_

Changed out of their racing gear and sporting their beige and black Team Berserker jackets, the three main pilots stood before the crowd of cheering fans and photographers. Juliet stood between her two teammates, waving to the crowd with one hand and using the other to push a few strands of hair out of her eyes. Aiden stood to her right, waving with both hands as his sandy blond hair got ruffled in the wind, a wide grin on his face. Standing with a dignified air, as always; Carmen flipped her long, platinum blond hair over her shoulder before blowing kisses to the crowd.

"And aren't they a stunning group of youngsters folks! Just fresh out of the IG-2, these kids remind me of Team Satomi back when they first started out!" Benjamin said as he walked over to the team with his microphone in hand. He cleared his throat before holding it up to the still rejoicing team forward. "Tell us Juliet, how does it feel to be able to compete in the IG-1?" Juliet stopped her waving for a minute and turned to Benjamin with a bright smile.

"Well you see Ben," she began, stopping to blow a last strand of hair out of her eyes before continuing her speech. "It really is an honor to get to compete in this year's IG-1. Getting to race against all the big names like Satomi, Velshtein and Sledge Mama, I couldn't dream of anything better!" The crowd roared in agreement with Juliet's statement.

"And there you have it folks! Rookie forward Juliet St. Marc, we hope this year will be as exciting for you as it already is for all of us!" Benjamin said as the pilots of Team Berserker continued to wave their thanks to the adoring fans before them.

_**-IGPX- **_

"Damn it Carmen, tell me again why I have to dress like this?" Juliet muttered looking at herself in the floor length mirror. The knee length black dress she wore clung to her young figure and the black high heeled boots tied the outfit together. Her hair had even been done up into a neat and elegant bun. Carmen came up behind her friend and teammate, dressed in a sky blue evening gown. Her hair was neatly curled and pulled back with a jeweled hair pin.

"The answer is simple mon ami. Young ladies must look their best while being presented to some of the handsomest pilots in the world. I cannot possibly allow you the opportunity to run around the IG-1 opening party in jeans and a shirt now can I? I would be, how you say, ah embarrassed to see my dearest fille like that," she said as she reached over and pulled out a red, heart shaped necklace from her jewelry box. She handed the necklace to Juliet, who put it on, before motioning with her finger for the younger girl to turn for her. Letting out a frustrated sound at Carmen's odd fashion obsession, Juliet reluctantly gave her a slight twirl. Carmen clapped her hands together as her ice blue eyes lit up. "C'est magnifique!" she cried hugging the mildly irritated Juliet quickly before letting go and smoothing both their dresses out.

"Okay okay we look our 'best', so can we go get Aiden now and get to this stupid party so it can be over with?" Juliet sighed as she gave her appearance one more look over in the mirror before turning to the door. Carmen laughed lightly at Juliet's obviously annoyed tone before grabbing her matching blue shawl and hurrying after her friend, linking arms with the dark haired girl.

"Cher Juliet, you still have a lot to understand before you can fully comprehend the true meaning of looking one's best," she said as they went off to face the other pilots at the IG-1 opening party.

_**-IGPX-**_

"Good evening IGPX fans! And welcome to the IG-1 opening party! I'm Benjamin Bright coming to you live from where all of the teams have gathered to be officially introduced to the fans." Juliet resisted the urge to wince at the sound of Bright's voice as the stage lights hit her in the face. Standing between her two teammates on the 'Team Berserker' platform, she looked out at the crowd of IGPX fans who had come clapping and cheering. Beside her, both Aiden and Carmen were waving, putting on their best smiles for the crowd.

"Let's meet our first team in this year's IG-1 folks! I present to you the rookie team straight out of the IG-2, Team Berserker!" pausing for the necessary amount of applause, Benjamin made his way over to them. Throughout his monologue on their achievements in the IG-2, Juliet glanced over at her fellow pilots, nervously anticipating any question Bright might ask her. The glances didn't go unnoticed as Aiden winked down at her with an encouraging smile and Carmen placed a supportive hand on her back. Juliet let out the breath she's been holding as Benjamin finally stopped in front of their team.

"And this is the forward of Team Berserker, Juliet St. Marc," he said as Juliet gave the crowd her signature innocent smile. "Tell us Juliet, you've built up quite the following among IGPX fans; how does it feel to be racing in the big leagues?" Benjamin held up the microphone to the young pilot before turning to smile for the cameras.

"It's great to be here tonight Benjamin, and it'll be a thrill to race in the IG-1. I hope we can learn from our races and that we can at least give all these championship material teams a run for their money," Juliet said, and the crowd began clapping and cheering their excitement. Visibly relaxed, Juliet stood with her team and waved to the crowd with a lot more enthusiasm then she had previously. Benjamin clapped along with the crowd before returning to his microphone.

"And there you have it ladies and gentlemen! Team Berserker!" he said. As he moved down the line and began introducing other teams, Juliet vaguely remembered hearing him say something about White Snow beating out Skylark for their spot, she noticed pair of eyes watching her from across the stage. Velshtein's Alex 'Cunningham' Hume was observing the new team with an odd flare in his eyes, as if they weren't pilots but a dinner course. Unnerved, Juliet took a step back from her spot before leaning over and whispering to Aiden.

"Is it just me, or is Velshtein's forward looking at us like we're lunch meat," she muttered, gripping his sleeve nervously. Aiden glanced down at her, mildly amused at her fears, before casting a glance towards Velshtein.

"Perhaps he's just admiring you in that dress," he joked, earning himself a death glare from the shorter pilot next to him. "Relax Juliet love, he's probably just checking out the competition. I heard that Cunningham has a reputation with new comers, that he's overly curious about their abilities," Aiden said putting a reassuring hand on Juliet's. "Nothing to be afraid of."

"Who said anything about being afraid?" Juliet hissed in response as Aiden shook his head with a bemused smile and Carmen stifled a giggle. Before the defender could comment on her friends state of mind, Bright turned and asked Team Satomi's forward, Takeshi Jin, what he thought of Team Berserker and their chances in the IG-1.

"Well, having started off as a rookie from the IG-2 only two years ago, I know that it's always a huge possibility that they'll turn out to be a real challenge on the track. I've seen most of Team Berserker's races, and I have to say I was impressed by their natural talent. I can't wait to face them," he said. Juliet's expression lit up with excitement as Benjamin turned away from Team Satomi to wish everyone a good evening for the cameras.

"Did you hear that? Takeshi Jin was impressed by us, US! Can you believe it?" Juliet said looking from Aiden to Carmen.

"Yes, it's rather exciting, isn't it?"Aiden smiled at his overly excited forward, Carmen letting out a deep sigh that caught both of their attention. "Anything wrong, Carmen?" Aiden asked. Carmen glanced over at them before smiling.

"I was just wishing Cunningham would look at me the same way he's looking at Juliet right now," she sighed. Juliet and Aiden both blinked at her before their shoulders shook as they desperately attempted to hold in their laughter. Carmen gave her two snickering teammates a reprimanding look as they made their way to the real formality of the evening, the dinner party.

_**-IGPX-**_

'Man, I'm not cut out for these kinds of parties,' Juliet thought with a sigh as she took a glass of sparkling cider from one of the waiters. Sitting quietly at her table in the far corner of the room, she thought back to what her coach, an overly sarcastic Italian man named Antonio di Cuore, had told her about IG-1 pilots.

"_They're all snobs, Juliet," _he'd said as she was about to leave. _"So if you ever get the chance to insult one of them, you better take it!" _Of course he'd then been scolded by their team owner and founder Brian Zeker, CEO of his company Zeker Corp. Juliet sighed as she searched the crowd with her eyes for her two teammates. Aiden seemed to be doing fine, having struck up a conversation with the members of Team Satomi as the group seemed to be comparing IG-2 stories. Carmen was doing better than fine; she had two of the Velshtein pilots at her mercy as she charmed her way into their hearts with a flip of her hair and a well placed giggle in between the conversation. Too deeply enthralled in watching the people before her, Juliet failed to notice a figure make its way to her table and have a seat across from her.

"Not the sociable type I take it?" the figure said, its smooth, deep voice reaching Juliet's ears, causing her to tense up ever so slightly in shock. She'd heard that voice before, many times during interviews or at the end of races she's seen on TV. Calmly, she turned her head to meet the gaze of the one and only Alex Cunningham Hume, or the Ghost as he was more properly nicknamed. Sitting there with a relaxed pose, the Velshtein forward held Juliet's eyes with his own, deep blue meeting dark brown for what seemed like forever. The man was dangerous; Juliet knew that all too well. He was a threat off and on the tracks and he knew it. Resisting the urge to get up and rush to her teammates, Juliet let a false smile grace her face for only a moment.

"Wow. It's such an honor to meet you, sir. I've always been a fan of Team Velshtein," she said, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she observed Cunningham for the reaction. Her words may have been sweet, but she knew her eyes were still hard as she watched him. Cunningham noticed as well as he took in her words and her expression before letting out a low chuckle.

"I was told you were an interesting pilot," he said as he raised his champagne glass to his lips, his eyes never leaving hers. "However, I wasn't told you were so headstrong. But I figured that much from your races in the IG-2." Juliet couldn't help the look of surprise that flickered across her face. Cunningham had just admitted to watching Team Berserker's matches during the IG-2, a league he normally shouldn't even care for. Noticing her surprise, Cunningham smirked ever so slightly. "After all, natural talents are a thrill to take on during a race. Especially when all they have going for them is natural talent." Resisting the urge to display her disappointment on her face, Juliet mentally frowned at the Velshtein forward. He'd insulted not only her pride, but her team's pride as well. 'He's gonna pay for that one,' Juliet thought before looking away from Cunningham.

"Oh, really? And who are you to know what I really have going for me, sir?" she said, remembering to be polite to the overly self centered pilot. Cunningham was obviously amused by her reaction as he let out a sincere laugh. Getting up with his champagne, he went and stood next to her before looking down and holding her eyes again. Juliet kept her eyes on his, refusing to back down no matter how tall or menacing this man was. After a moment, Cunningham's intense look morphed into one of calm amusement. Lightly, he tapped his glass against her glass in cheers before taking a sip and turning to walk off.

"Oh, by the way. My name's Cunningham, not sir," he called over his shoulder before disappearing into the crowd. After taking a moment to fume silently, Juliet finally set her glass down and stood up, nearly colliding with Aiden as she did so.

"Goodness Juliet, what's the matter with you?" he said as he steadied the shorter pilot. "I've been standing here for a good few minutes and you didn't even notice I was there. What happened? And why were you talking with Cunningham?" Aiden said before he noticed Juliet's annoyed expression. "..Did he say anything threatening to you?" he asked, but stopped his worrying as soon as he heard Juliet scoff at the question.

"He didn't threaten me," she said as she walked arm in arm with Aiden away from the table.

"Well then, what has you so upset?" he sighed as Juliet glanced over to where Cunningham was talking with some of his teams' sponsors. Taking a moment to watch the other pilot before turning away, Juliet continued to fume mentally because of the irritating conversation she'd just had with the self absorbed Ghost.

"I'm not upset; that man just really pisses me off," she said before pulling a bemused Aiden over to reclaim Carmen from the other two Velshtein pilots.

**_To. Be. Continued._**

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><p>So there we go ladies and gents! Chapter 1 is completed and here to read!<p>

I'm sorry if any of the characters seemed OOC, I tried really hard not to make it that way!

Please Read and Review

And tune in for the next chapter of The Immortal Flame


	2. Chapter 2

Helloooo my fellow FF readers and writers!

This is zzz589zzz speaking! Firstly I'd like to apologize for not updating sooner. With classes starting up I really haven't had the time

So pleaseeee forgive me :)

Now prepare yourselves for the excitement that is to follow in Chapter 2!

Disclaimer: I do not own IGPX or any of the pilots associated with the series. I DO however claim Team Berserker and their fabulous members as my own, so please be nice to them :)

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><p>Chapter 2<p>

A Race of Firsts

*Brrrrring* *Brrrrrrrrring*

Juliet let out a small groan as she attempted to find her way out of the sheets that covered her bed. Her alarm had been blaring for the past ten minutes, and for the life of her Juliet could not get herself untangled so she could turn the damned thing off.

"Why did I even buy this thing?" she grumbled as she kicked and twisted to reach the alarm. After a few more failed attempts, Juliet finally managed to get a hold of the alarm. Taking a moment to bask in her victory, she turned the alarm off and sat up in bed, using her free hand to brush her hair back out of her face. She set the defeated clock down and got out of bed, dragging herself over to the calendar that hung on her wall. A number of red marks covered the days. Reaching for the red marker on her desk, Juliet crossed off that days date before looking at tomorrow's date and circling the words 'First Race' that had been written on it.

"Just one more day," she whispered to herself before putting the marker away and going to change out of her pajamas. A quick shower and closet search later, Juliet emerged from her apartment dressed in a clean pair of jeans, a dark red t-shirt and a black hoodie that cut off half way down her back, a light brown messenger bag slung over her right shoulder. She pulled up the hood of her jacket to cover her face as she walked down the stairs of her apartment building. Giving a quick wave to the apartment superintendent, Juliet tucked her hands into her high pockets and kept her head down as she made her way to the train station to head towards the Zeker Corp. building for the early team meeting.

_**-IGPX- **_

"Alright you overgrown girls listen up," Antonio 'Tony' di Cuore, Team Berserker's coach, said as he sat back in his chair and kicked his feet up onto his desk. The three Team Berserker pilots gave their coach a mildly exasperated look as he took out his laser pointer and directed their attention towards the screen. "Since the IGPX likes to be a big bitch to beginners, we're stuck running this year's first race," Tony said as a picture of team Edgeraid appeared on the screen in front of the pilots. "Now, who can tell me what team Edgeraid's main tactics are?" he asked, running a hand through his sandy brown hair as he leaned back on the hind legs of his chair.

"Extreme teamwork," Carmen said, dressed in a dark blue, casual dress; black tights and a pair of black flats completed the outfit.

"Exactly right Carmen," Tony said getting up from his seat before walking in front of the other pilots. "Teamwork, something you spineless, pathetic lot lack," he said stopping in front of Juliet. The youngest pilot peeked up at Tony before glancing to Aiden for help. Her midfielder simply grinned at her, shrugging his well dressed shoulders. Sporting a simple button up green shirt and black slacks, Aiden leaned back in his own seat before turning back to Tony.

"And yet, in this race our separation could be our greatest advantage, right?" he said. Tony nodded before turning back to the screen behind him.

"Right again!" he said as he use his laser pointer in a feeble attempt at stabbing one of the Edgeraid mechs on screen. "You're all so horribly disorganized, that your awful rhythm is sure to infect the near perfect sync that Edgeraid tries so hard to maintain." Juliet frowned ever so slightly at her coach's obvious disrespect for the team, but a quick warning glance from Carmen made her swallow any angry retort she may have had. Letting out a huff of irritation, Juliet leaned forward in her chair and glared at her coach.

"Alright Tony, I'm all ears. So what do you suppose we do?" she asked as she gave Tony a skeptical look. A grin slowly spread across the Coach's face as he leaned against his desk.

"You got it, listen up kiddies," Tony began, drawing the three pilots into his intricate plan.

_**-IGPX-**_

If there was anything to look forward to in this crazy, mixed up world, it was being a mechanic. At least that's what Boku Hara thought as she stood in front of the three Team Berserker mechs with a proud expression on her face. She'd stayed up all night, making sure that the mechs were ready for today's race.

"So, you guys ready for the race today?" she said brushing her black hair with red highlights out of her maroon eyes. Although the mechs didn't respond, Boku knew in her heart that they were all going to show the crowd what Team Berserker was really made of.

"Hey, Boku!" The mechanic turned around before grinning as the three pilots walked into the giant garage. Decked out in their racing gear, all of the members of Team Berserker approached the mechs and mechanic. "Our machines ready for the first race of the rest of our lives?" Juliet asked standing beside the older woman.

"You bet. They're all upgraded and ready for the race against Edgeraid. I just hope you guys are too," Boku said looking at the three. Juliet gave her a thumbs up which Aiden seconded. Carmen gave Boku her best reassuring smile before she slipped her protective head gear on. "All right then, all of you into the mechs," Boku grinned. The three pilots nodded as they went towards their respective machines.

As Juliet began to climb into her pilot's seat, she noticed a blur of color hanging by the garage door.

"Hey! Maria!" the forward grinned as Team Berserkers ever faithful assistant rushed into the hanger. Maria Rodriguez was a young woman who had an obsession with changing her hair color every other week. Slim, petite and Hispanic, Maria was a pretty college intern with a lot of spunk.

"Hey there Juls! Ai! Car!" Maria grinned as she went over to the three pilots, giving Boku a quick hug 'hello' as she passed. "I have a delivery for our wonderful defender!" she cooed holding up a bouquet of roses.

"Wow," Aiden muttered as Juliet nudged a blushing Carmen with a cheeky grin. The French woman reached her arms out to take the bouquet from Maria, before taking the card that was nestled in between the roses. Reading the card with a warm smile, Carmen failed to notice Juliet and Aiden come up behind her and take the note.

"Who's D?" Juliet asked as she and Aiden read over the love note. Carmen flushed at their antics before snatching it back from them.

"No one you two would know," she said in a matter of fact manner, putting the card back into the bouquet as she went over to her machine. Juliet gave Aiden a curious look, but the midfielder shrugged his confusion as well before Maria cleared her throat, catching the three pilots' attention.

"I have one more delivery to make before you three head out to race," she grinned. From behind her back, Maria produced a single white rose that had a card tied to it. "For Juliet," she said as the forward's eyes widened in confusion, ignoring the equally confused looks of her two teammates as she reached out and gingerly took the rose before glancing down at the card.

_Good luck,_

_Cunningham. _

Juliet's cheeks went up in flames as Aiden doubled over in laughter behind her, Carmen grinning like it was Christmas.

"Cunningham? Sending you love letters? Hah!" Aiden couldn't contain his laughter as he turned to climb into his mech with a mild amount of effort. Before Juliet could jump the midfielder, Carmen pulled her into a warm embrace and kissed both her cheeks.

"Oh Juliet, c'est fantastique! You finally have a male admirer!" Carmen cried as Juliet tried her best to breath in her friend's tight grip.

"Carmen, knock it off! He's my rival not my admirer!" Juliet said as she finally managed to untangle herself from the defender's grip. Placing the rose and card on the desk that was in the garage, Juliet turned and climbed into her mech as Carmen followed her example. Soon all three pilots were strapped in and ready to race.

"See you six on the track," Boku said with a wave as the three mechs and three pilots made their way out of the garage and onto the tracks.

_**-IGPX- **_

"Good day ladies and gentlemen! And what a day it is! The sun is shining! The birds are singing! And our pilots are bright, bold and ready for action!" The crowds of IG-1 fans cheered in agreement with Benjamin Bright's words as the two teams were ready at their marks on the starting line. Team Edgeraid, their red mechs shinning in the early sun, looked as fierce as they did ready. The six pilots on the tracks waited for the countdown to begin to signal the beginning of the race. Juliet leaned back in her seat and took a deep breath, trying to calm the nerves that she'd been denying since they'd entered the IG-1.

"Scared?" Aiden said as he heard her exhale through the communication system that connected their mechs. Juliet looked over to the midfielder's mech, even though she couldn't see him through his gear.

"Just a little," she finally admitted with a whisper as she tightened her hold on the piloting controls. Her two teammates remained silent as they contemplated the race that was only moments away.

"Whatever happens today you three, just know that we believe in you," a deep, mature voice murmured over the communication system. Brian Zeker, the team founder, had donned his head set and was ready to reassure his young pilots. "You've trained for this, worked hard for this. So go out there and do what you three do best, race." Inside the team's viewing room, Maria and Tony looked at their boss with a small sense of pride. His words were always true, especially in the most critical moments.

A few moments passed before Juliet inhaled and exhaled one last calming breath before a grin spread across her face.

"Alright, let's do this," she said, her tone determined as she set her sights on the giant screen that would begin counting down at any moments. Carmen and Aiden both readied themselves as well with knowing smiles on their faces. In the viewing room, Maria clapped her hands together with joy and Mr. Zeker let a proud smile grace his middle aged face. Tony smirked at the forward's confidence as he leaned back in his chair and prepared himself in case his coaching services were needed. Everyone in the stadium watched eagerly as the countdown began. As the final number disappeared from the screen, the six racing mechs roared to life as they raced forward onto the tracks.

_**-IGPX-**_

Benjamin Bright was shouting out information on the race and the teams as the six mechs made the final turn on their first lap. Having barely managed to remain in position during the first lap, the Team Berserker pilots changed their focus on the upcoming battle portion of the race.

"Remember what Tony said about Team Edgeraid," Aiden said as he tightened his hold on the controls.

"Strong teamwork," Juliet mumbled as she two kept her focus on the team in front of them. "And an uncanny habit of tossing the opposing team around the tracks." Carmen positioned herself up next to her two teammates as she watched Edgeraid's formation.

"Just be careful, mon ami," she said as they crossed the starting line again, beginning the second lap. Suddenly, the Edgeraid mechs turned around to face Team Berserker, their stances locking for battle as they remained in perfect synchro. Juliet gritted her teeth at the situation as she recalled Tony's words to her while preparing for the race.

"_Remember Juls, these guys have near perfect synchronization in just about every race. The only way you are going to get past them is if you manage to disrupt their teamwork."_

"Here goes something," Juliet mumbled before she increased her mech's speed. Shooting forward into the center of Edgeraid's formation, she aimed a punch right at the forward mech's chest. Juliet let out a frustrated sound as the mech easily avoided her taunts and still managed to remain in formation with the team. 'It's gonna take a lot more than some silly games to throw these guys off their marks,' she thought before she felt a tug on her mech. Suddenly, she was yanked forward by an invisible force and thrown onto the sides of the tracks.

"Shit! Juliet!" Aiden gasped as he watched the forward get yanked around by the three Edgeraid mechs.

'Looks like they've already got me all tied up,' Juliet thought before a look of realization crossed her face. "Aiden! Carmen! On my count I want you two to grab me and move as fast as you can!" she said, causing her two teammates to blink.

"Are you sure mon ami?" Carmen said as she dodged a shot from Edgeraid's defender, knowing what would happen if they got a hold of her.

"Yes! On my count!" Juliet said before she wrapped her mech's arms in the thin wire that Edgeraid had wrapped around her to yank her around. As she wrestled for dominance with the opposing forward, she yanked him towards her with his wires.

"Now!" she shouted. Moving at top speed, Carmen and Aiden raced ahead of Edgeraid's two remaining team members before gripping onto Juliet's mech and speeding forward. Unable to maintain his pull on Juliet's mech, the Edgeraid forward fell to the tracks as his mech was dragged by the combined force of the three Team Berserker machines.

"Oh and it looks like Edgeraid's forward, Bjorn Johannsen, is getting dragged by Team Berserker's outstanding play!" Bright commented as the three standing machines and one fallen machine made their way around another corner, the two remaining Edgeraid mechs doing their best to return the synchronization that they'd lost and trying to catch up to the others.

"Va bene! Uccidere il bastardo!" Tony cheered from his seat in the viewing box as he watched his pilots screw with Bjorn.

"Tony, language!" Brain snapped, but Tony just ignored him as he spun a surprised Maria around as he cheered the rebellious forward and her teammates on.

In the repair machines, Boku also cheered her loudest at her teammates' victorious moment.

"We're getting closer to the last lap Juliet!" Aiden said as he looked ahead of them.

"Oui! And the two other ones are getting closer and closer by the second!" Carmen said as she looked behind them towards the approaching mechs. Juliet bit her lip as she dragged Bjorn this way and that by the clear wires.

"Alright! When I say go, you two let me go and change into speed mode and head for the finish line. I'll deal with these guys," she said. Having trusted their forward's judgment so far, Carmen and Aiden only voiced their agreements as they made their way towards the lap line. Right before they turned the last corner, Juliet yanked more of Bjorn's wires towards her, sending the forward in her direction as they began the final lap. "Now!" she shouted. Carmen and Aiden instantly released her and dropped into speed mode, racing ahead to complete the final lap.

"Okay Bjorn, you wanna dance? Well let's dance," Juliet said as she put her mech's full strength into overpowering the Edgeraid forward. Spinning the opposing mech around as they raced across the tracks, she built up enough momentum to have the two of them spinning at their fastest. Juliet continued to apply pressure to the wires. "Come on, snap already," she grumbled.

Suddenly, as if hearing her quiet plea, the wires connected Bjorn to her mech snapped, sending the Edgeraid forward flying into his two teammates behind them.

"Finally!" Juliet cheered as she dropped into speed mode. She didn't hear the sound of the crowds cheering around her, nor did she hear the sound of Benjamin's commentary or her boss and coach's cheers. All she could hear was the pounding of her own heart as she caught up with her two teammates. All she could see was the finish line ahead of her. As the three Team Berserker pilots crossed the finish line, taking the checkered flag, only one thought rang throughout their minds.

'We CAN win.'

To. Be. Continued.

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><p>Wow! The first race! Man I hope I wrote that right!<p>

So tell me what you guys think :) review please? I wanna know how I'm doing. Am I writing these characters right? These races right? Feedback is beautiful people XD

And tune in next time for Chapter 3!

This is zzz589zzz, signing out ;)


	3. Chapter 3

Please forgive meeeeeeeeeeeh!

As you all probably know I am zzz589zzz. And yes, I know I am a terrible person!

I know I promised this update forever ago! And I know how much you guys wanted it! I'm SO SORRY!

There was just so much going on that I didn't have the time! and then when I finished I was like "..No...this isn't enough" so I wrote another two pages to make it a good length!

So now, I am happy to finally present to you The Immortal Flame! Chapter 3! ENJOY!

Disclaimer: I do not own IGPX or any of its characters/ideas. I do however own Team Berseker. So don't take them away, please?

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><p>Chapter 3<p>

A Meeting of Fate?

"What's she doing?" one of the men on the stadium cleaning crew muttered as he looked down onto the race tracks. Standing directly in his line of vision was a young girl with long, braided black hair. Dressed in a pair of black, knee length baggy shorts and a dark red hoodie, she was crouching down on the IGPX race tracks, staring at the marked race course as if it held some type of mystical treasure.

"Forget about her," another of the cleaners mumbled as he collected the last bit of trash in the area. "She isn't doing any harm. Let's finish up here and go grab some lunch," he said, nudging the other man away from the track and strange girl. Had the two men continued to watch the young girl, they would've seen her get up and walk on the track in a circle, glaring down at the road as if it was laughing at her.

Juliet St. Marc was frustrated. In fact, she was beyond frustrated. She'd been staring at the race track for the past hour or so, and still she felt nothing. No sense of nostalgia, no warm, fuzzy feeling. Nothing.

"Tony, that dirty liar," Juliet muttered, recalling her coaches "words of wisdom" at the previous meeting that had happened the night before.

"_You've got to go somewhere to focus yourself Juliet,"_ he'd said, as the two of them faced each in the meeting room after the rest of the team had gone home. _"Our next big race is against Team Satomi, last year's champions. You need to calm down and try your hardest. Why don't you try going to the race tracks? A lot of great forwards say that standing on the tracks always gets them pumped for a race."_

Juliet stared at the track for a few more moments, her expression going from confused, to mildly annoyed to downright pissed in a matter of minutes.

"I DON'T GET IT?" she shouted, stomping her foot on the track in an act of juvenile frustration. "WHAT THE HELL IS SO GREAT ABOUT A STUPID TRACK? It's there! I see it!" she said thrusting both her arms out to indicate the track in front of her. The young forward continued to curse out the race track that was before her, not even noticing as a young man stepped up behind her, watching her throw a fit with a curious and lazy expression. "Damn stupid track! You aren't so special! Why the hell am I supposed to sit around and stare at you? You big piece of-" Juliet shouted as she turned, only to come face to face with her curious observer.

Standing in front of her was a young boy who looked about three inches taller than her. He had messy black hair and lazy light brown eyes that were looking at her with a mild hint of amusement. Dressed in a light blue t-shirt, red jacket and a pair of baggy beige pants, he leaned to the side slightly as he watched the confused look on Juliet's face morph into one of recognition. For a few moments the two stared at each other before Juliet's eyes widened and she jumped back, raising a finger to point right between the boy's face.

"Oh my God! You're Takashi Jin!" she cried as the Team Satomi forward smiled at her and raised a hand.

"Hey," Takashi greeted, not even bothering to acknowledge the shocked expression on his fellow forward's face.

_**-IGPX- **_

"Here you go champ, two dogs with everything on them. On the house," the hot dog vender said, handing two steaming hot dogs to Takashi, who gave the man a lopsided smile.

"Thanks man," he said before going over to the bench where Juliet sat, curled up into a ball as she hugged her knees to her chest. "Here," Takashi smiled, handing her one of the hot dogs before taking a seat next to her on the bench. Juliet stared at the hot dog with mild curiosity before she took a bite out of it.

"Thanks," she mumbled through a mouth full of hot dog. Takashi nodded, pleased with her reaction, before he took a bite into his own dog. The two forwards sat in silence, calmly eating their make-shift lunch as they stared off at the cliff side view of the city. After a few moments of silence, Takashi glanced over at Juliet, now finished with her hot dog.

"All better?" he asked as Juliet sat very still for a moment before nodding. Takashi's calm expression slipped into a smile as he turned his attention back to the view in front of them. "So, I'm gonna go ahead and guess that you were at the tracks today cause of tomorrow's big race," he said before finishing off the rest of his hot dog.

"You got that right," Juliet sighed as she handed Takashi her tin foil as he got up to throw away his own. "I don't get how you big IGPX players do it, always so calm and in control. Aren't you the least bit worried about tomorrow?" she asked as she looked over at Team Satomi's forward. Takashi put his hand into his pocket as he leaned from side to side, pondering the question.

"Well…yeah, course I am," he said, sitting back down next to her. "Everyone gets nervous. That's one of the best parts about being an IGPX racer," he said looking at her with a knowing smile. Juliet frowned at the young forward in front of her.

'What's with this guy?' she thought as she watched Takashi get up and stretch slightly. 'He's younger than me by like…a year or two. And he's only been in the IG-1 for that long. How come he gets this better than I do?" Takashi turned back to her before giving her a wide grin.

"What? Still don't get it?" he said as Juliet's cheeks flushed slightly with embarrassment. The two forwards stared each other down for a moment before Juliet pushed herself up off the bench.

"So what if I don't?" she frowned pointing a finger at him, her expression irritated. "You experienced IG-1 racers think you know everything. How am I supposed to get it if all you do is sit there and laugh at me," Juliet snapped, glaring at him the whole time. Takashi watched the frustrated racer in front of him as she breathed in and out, trying to calm her unexpected anger. After a few moments of silence, Takashi stepped forward and put his hand on top of hers, lowering it back down to her side.

"I know it's frustrating," he said as the two racers stared each other down, bright brown eyes meeting dark chocolate eyes. Takashi let go of Juliet's hand before he smiled slightly at her. "I started off being really frustrated about all this too. I mean come on, it's the IG-1!" he said looking back out towards the city. "Of course I was nervous," he sighed, putting both his hands in his pockets. Juliet frowned slightly in confusion before she stepped up next to the Team Satomi forward.

"So, how do I stop being frustrated?" Juliet mumbled crossing her arms across her chest self-consciously, staring out at the city as well. Takashi smiled slightly before looking over at her.

"You stick by your team," he said reaching out to put a hand on her shoulder. "You follow your heart to what you think is the best path." Juliet blinked over at him with confusion, but Takashi had already turned to look back at the city. "When I realized I was in the IG-1, like really realized it, I totally freaked. I bombed our first race and blew up at everybody," he said with a sigh. "But that's just the half of it. Getting to the championship race was one of the biggest challenges I've ever faced." Takashi finally turned away from the cliff side view to place a hand on either one of Juliet's shoulders as he turned her towards him. "That's why you have to stick with your team. Believe in them and believe in yourself," he said before his serious expression shifted to a boyish grin. "Otherwise you're gonna have a wise cracking, know-it-all defender yelling at you with every chance she gets." Juliet blinked up at the forward before her face slipped into a frown.

"Wait….what? Know-it-all defender? What're you talking about Jin?" she said as Takashi laughed lightly and put an arm around her shoulders.

"Nothing nothing. Hey come on, let's check out the city and see what they have set up for our big race tomorrow," he said before tugging her towards the city. Juliet let out yelps of surprise and curse words as the other forward ran ahead of her into the late afternoon of the bustling city.

_**-IGPX- **_

'Man….what a weird day,' Juliet thought as she walked back to her apartment building, her hands in her pockets as she kept her head down, her hoodie blocking anyone from seeing her face. The last thing she wanted was for any unsuspecting fan to catch her out in the open and tackle her for an autograph. "I gotta stop running into random forwards who keep trying to get on my case," she muttered as she walked into her apartment building. The superintendent glanced up as he watched the forward walk in.

"Evening Juliet," he said as Juliet gave a very un-lady like grunt in response, checking her mail box across from his desk. "You've got a guest upstairs. Some interesting young man who insisted on waiting for you," the superintendent chuckled, not noticing the look of surprise on Juliet's face. The old man blinked as he watched Juliet freeze up at her mail box. "Juliet? Is something wrong?" he asked. The young pilot glanced back at him with a nervous smile.

"Nah, nothing's wrong," she said before rushing past him and up the stairs towards her apartment. The superintendent frowned as he glanced past his desk to watch her run.

"Well…that was odd," the old man muttered before he went back to reading his newspaper.

_**-IGPX- **_

"So you finally decided to come home, huh Juliet?"

Juliet frowned slightly as she looked at the older pilot who had rooted himself in front of her apartment door.

"Cunningham," she said, acknowledging him with a curt nod, which only seemed to amuse the Velshtein forward even more. "Is there a reason you've camped out in front of my apartment?" Juliet asked as she made her way over to him, casually pulling out her keys as if nothing was wrong. Cunningham watched her for a moment before putting his hands in his pockets and letting a calm, confident expression spread across his face.

"I wanted to see how you were feeling before your big match with Takeshi, that's all," he said, making a point to ignore the twitch of irritation that crossed Juliet's face. She hated that about him; that he would only pay attention to the forwards and ignore the rest of the team. Cunningham kept his eyes on her as Juliet fiddled with her keys in thought before she glanced up to meet his gaze.

"I'll have you know that I just ran into Takeshi," she said watching him for any reaction; she got nothing. Not even a flicker of surprise. Cunningham just held her eyes for a moment before nodding and taking a step away from her apartment door. Juliet took his actions as an invitation to leave the conversation, which she gladly accepted. Stepping forward with her apartment keys at the ready, she quickly unlocked her front door and stepped into her apartment. She was about to shut the door behind her when she noticed Cunningham hadn't left her floor yet; he just stood there, watching her.

"….Anything else, Cunningham, sir?" she asked after what seemed like forever, making a point to ad in the title he didn't seem to enjoy. For a moment, Juliet swore she saw the corners of his lips tilt upwards into a genuine smile, but the moment passed as he turned to leave.

"I'd keep an eye out for Takeshi's kendo moves, if I were you," he called with a wave of his hand before he disappeared down a flight of stairs. Juliet stayed at the front door, staring out into the hallway with an expression of pure surprise. There was no excuse, no explanation for his actions; yet she couldn't find the energy to chase after him and demand he explain himself. With a sigh, she turned away from the front door as it swung shut behind her.

"Stupid prick," she muttered as she went over to the laptop that sat on her small sitting room table, wondering if she could find any clips of important kendo moves online.

**_-IGPX-_**

"I don't think I've ever seen you this tired love," Aiden said as the members of Team Berserker made their way to meet with Boku for their final maintenance check. Juliet glanced up at the midfielder, who had an arm around her shoulders, before sighing.

"Yeah, I was up all night checking up on Takeshi's moves for today's race," she said leaning against him as Carmen reached over and smoothed her hair out of her face. Juliet smiled slightly over at the defender before muffling a yawn. She'd been up all night reviewing videos on kendo moves and had come up with a few ideas on how to block anything Takeshi might pull, but her lack of sleep was catching up to her.

"Everything will be fine Juliet," Carmen said softly as she gave the young forward a reassuring smile. "You will do wonderfully mon cher."

"I hope you're right Carmen," Juliet sighed as she moved away from Aiden to stretch out her arms, trying to get the blood in her veins to flow faster. As the team rounded a corner, they nearly crashed into the pilots of Team Satomi. Aiden reached out to steady Juliet as she took a step back in surprise, looking up at the opposing team with a half-awake expression. Takeshi didn't seem to notice her exhaustion; he just smiled and gave her a reassuring wave.

"Good luck today Juliet," he beamed, ignoring the confused expression his midfielder gave him and the suspicious one his defender shot at him. Juliet gapped up at him for a moment before snapping out of her daze as Aiden nudged her slightly.

"Oh, right! Thanks to you too," she smiled before side stepping the team and continuing on her way. Takeshi watched the team leave with a pleased expression before he turned and continued heading towards the Team Satomi hangar.

"Hey, Takeshi! What was that all about?" Liz, Team Satomi's defender, frowned warily as she followed after him, their midfielder Amy bringing up the rear. Takeshi glanced back at Liz before giving her a lazy smile.

"Nothing Liz, just being nice," he shrugged before he continued on his way, totally oblivious to her unusually irritated expression and Amy's confused, nervous smile.

_**-IGPX-**_

"It's about time you two got here," Jan Michael, Velshtein's midfielder, said as his two teammates joined him in their exclusive viewing area. Similarly, many of the other teams had come to the viewing room to get a better look at the upcoming race between Team Berserker and Team Satomi. Cunningham shrugged off Jan's comment as he took a seat in an available arm chair, leaving the other side of the couch Jan was on for Dew, their defender, to sit on.

"I had something I needed to take care of," Cunningham said casually as he turned his attention towards the screen as one of the reporters met Team Berserker down in their hanger for a last minute interview.

"Same, sorry Jan," Dew said with a slight smile as he paid his teammate a proper apology as he too turned towards the live interview. Jan rolled his eyes at Cunningham's response before turning to Dew.

"Oh please, you were probably off planning something for that defender you're so smitten for," Jan scoffed good-naturedly as Dew shrugged with a smile. "And Cunningham was most likely trying to dig up as much information as possible on Berserker's forward," he said glancing over at his team leader. Cunningham didn't even glance away from the screen as he watched Juliet tell the reporter how excited she was for a race against last year's champions. After a moment he turned away from the interview to glance over at his two teammates.

"Did you two say something?" he asked, although he gave them both a knowing smirk. Jan gapped at the response as Dew guffawed at the forward's cool, confident answer. Having put the midfielder in his proper place, Cunningham turned his attention back towards the race.

'Alright rookie, let's see what you can do,' he thought as he watched Benjamin Bright count down the beginning of the race.

_**To. Be. Continued.**_

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><p><em><em>And there you have it folks! Chapter 3! Man I really hope I wrote Teams Satomi and Velshtein okay! I think I might've made Takeshi a little too philosophical, but come on! He's done this twice already. I'm sure he's grown up a little.

I also hope you guys like Velshtein's little back and forth! Gotta love those guys. But, on to more important business.

Cunningham and Takeshi seem to be pretty in control of their teams, don't you think? So I'm proposing a question to all you IGPX fans out there.

Who's your favorite team forward/leader? Is it cool, collected Cunningham? Easy going Takeshi? Or even my OC, overly enthusiastic, tomboy Juliet? All of the current IGPX team forwards have been selected as possible choices. Vote on my poll to pick who you think is the best and I'll dedicate a chapter to the winner. I'll even write it from his/her perspective! So what do you guys say? Up to the challenge?

This might just be fun! Well see you guys next time on Chapter 4!

Remember, read, review, PICK YOUR FAVORITE TO WIN!

This is zzz589zzz, signing out ;)


	4. Chapter 4

Hi everybody! zzz589zzz here!

I am SO sorry that I haven't updated this in a long time! I missed it! But now that school has finally settled out and I've gotten a better computer, updating is going to be a LOT easier. But before I go on I want to thank the people who have reviewed this story so far.

xROXASxUCHIHAx, Choco3Symphony, Lang Su and Guest thank you so much for your reviews! I probably wouldn't have continued this story if it wasn't for your comments! This chapter is for you guys!

Disclaimer: I do not own IGPX or any of its characters. I do claim Team Berserker and its members as my own creations though.

* * *

><p>Chapter 4<p>

A Step in the Wrong Direction

"Dammit!" Juliet St. Marc cried as she slammed her fist into the Team Berserker locker room wall. "What the hell?! We couldn't even touch them!" she shouted as she paced back and forth in front of her two concerned teammates. Carmen and Aiden exchanged nervous glances before Carmen stepped forward into Juliet's path.

"Juliet, mon ami, you need to calm down," she said softly as Juliet looked up at her with wild eyes.

"Calm down? Calm down?! Carmen, they destroyed us! We didn't even have time to blink before they whipped the floor with us!" Juliet cried, her outburst surprising both Carmen and Aiden. "All of that damn training did nothing! We're still a pathetic, second grade team!" she said before turning away from the two of them, her expression a cross between anger and shame. Her two teammates mimicked her sudden silence as they all reflected on their very recent defeat by Team Satomi. Before any of the three could break the depressing silence, the doors to the locker room slid open as Tony, Boku and Maria stepped into the room.

"What the hell was that?" Tony said harshly, completely disregarding the sullen mood in the locker room. "That had to be the most pathetic race I've ever seen, and I've seen a good number of them. You three idiots didn't stand a chance," he barked as the three Team Berserker pilots winced at his tone. "And you," Tony snapped as he brushed past Aiden and Carmen and put a hand on Juliet's shoulder, spinning her around to face him. "What the hell were you doing out there? You completely froze in front of Jin!" he said. Juliet glared down at her shoes as frustrated tears began pooling in her eyes. "What do you have to say for yourself?!" Tony said. Juliet clenched her fists at her side before her head snapped up to look at him.

"Shut up you bastard!" she cried as she reached out and shoved the couch away from her. "You don't know what you're talking about! We may have raced poorly today, but you were a pretty damn pathetic couch yourself!" she snapped, Tony blinking down at her in shock. "Why don't you take your criticism and shove it somewhere else?! Cause I don't want to hear it!" Juliet said before she pushed past him and rushed out of the locker room, nearly running into Mr. Zeker as she ran away from her team. The old team owner frowned slightly at her retreating figure before turning to face the rest of the shame faced team.

"We need to talk," he said calmly before stepping in and shutting the locker room door.

_**-IGPX-**_

"Tony, that bastard," Juliet muttered as she looked out at the race tracks from the pilots' private viewing area. After her confrontation with her coach, she'd escaped to the only place in the IGPX building that she knew he couldn't come into. With a slight sigh, she turned and sat herself down on a bench in front of the large glass windows that over looked the race track.

'What the hell happened today?' she thought as she let her face drop into her hands. 'Why did I freeze up in front of Takeshi?' Looking back at the race, she couldn't even remember getting attacked by the other forward.

"_We've got this race in the bag!" Juliet shouted over the intercom as Team Berserker was matching Team Satomi move for move in the second lap of the race. _

"_Don't get too cocky Juliet, they could still bounce back," Tony said from the team viewing box, Juliet shrugging off his comment as she blocked another one of Takeshi's attacks._

"_Oh please, what could go wrong?" Juliet scoffed as she turned to face Takeshi again. As she moved in for her own attack, she felt her mech start to slow down. 'What?! What the hell's going on?' she thought as she could barely move her mech's arms. Seeing the opening, Takeshi wasted no time as he charged forward, taking out Juliet's machine in one, carefully aimed blow. _

"_No! Dammit!" Juliet cried as she saw both Carmen and Aiden's mechs fall victim to the same fate as Team Satomi raced off to take the finish._

"Why did our machines slow down?" Juliet groaned as she ran a hand through her hair. 'Maybe there was something wrong with the mechs?' she thought biting her thumb lightly in thought before jumping up from her seat. "I should run down and check," she said turning away from the view to jump in surprise at the figure standing behind her. Cunningham stood behind her with a neutral expression on his face.

"And here I thought you'd never notice I was here," he commented lightly as he walked over to Juliet, ignoring her suddenly tense posture at his appearance. Cunningham walked over to stand beside her as he looked out at the view of the tracks that Juliet was about to leave behind. There was a moment of silence before she glanced sideways at him.

"Was there something you wanted Cunningham, _sir_?" she asked, adding the 'sir' as an afterthought. They stood in silence for a moment before Cunningham replied, never taking his eyes off of the tracks.

"That was some race today," he said, Juliet flinching slightly at his amused tone. "I don't think I've ever seen three mechs go down so quickly, and all at the same time too," Cunningham commented before he turned his head to glance down at Juliet. The aforementioned girl turned her face away from his gaze, choosing to glare down at the floor instead.

"I don't need this right now Cunningham, especially from you," she murmured, ignoring the tears of shame that were stinging her eyes. Neither pilot made a sound, electing instead to stand in the painful silence that followed.

'Please, I don't think I can stand to hear any more insults, especially not from this jerk,' Juliet thought, trying not to glance up at the Velshtein forward, afraid of meeting his gaze. She was about to leave and give up hope on the conversation before she heard the sound of keys jingling next to her ear.

"How about a ride?" Cunningham said casually, the surprising statement causing Juliet to look up at him in shock. The other forward looked down at her with an amused expression as he held the keys to his car up between them. "I can take you home, and we can talk about what happened today. Like civilized people," he said, adding the last part in with a teasing tone.

In the near future, Juliet would blame the events that followed that night on a number of things. Maybe it was because she'd been so wiped out from the race that she could no longer think straight. Or maybe it was because she didn't have the nerve to go back and face her teammates after the way she'd behaved. Or maybe, just maybe, it was because she wanted to seek comfort from the arrogant, aggravating pilot who's blue eyes twinkled with amusement and just a hint of hope and sympathy.

But none of that mattered in the present; because for whatever reason, Juliet said yes.

_**-IGPX-**_

Carmen couldn't remember the last time she'd felt this downhearted. She'd failed her team today, failed as a defender. She hadn't been able to even move as she'd watched her two best friends and teammates fall victim to Team Satomi's attacks.

'And now Antonio is raging up a storm with Mr. Zeker and ma chere Juliet is heartbroken,' she thought with a sigh as she stepped out of the IGPX main building, having changed out of her casual after-race outfit into a slim fitted aqua blue dress and black heels. She stood outside the building and checked the time on her phone, sighing as she watched the digital clock blink closer and closer to 8:00 pm.

'He's not coming, not after the way I raced today,' she thought with a sighed as she put her phone back into her purse and turned to walk away from the building towards her apartment. Before she could get any further, a black sports car pulled up next to the curb in front of her.

"Carmen," Dew said as he stepped out of the car with a curious frown on his face. "Where are you going? Do you not want to have dinner?" he asked as he shut the car door and walked around it over to her.

"Dew," Carmen breathed, letting the shock of seeing him flow out of her as he stood in front of her. The Velshtein defender smiled warmly and took her hands in his.

"Yes? What is it?" he asked gently as he took a step closer to her. Carmen didn't know what to say to the man before her. She knew when she'd first laid eyes on the Velshtein defender at the IGPX opening dinner party that he was something special, but Carmen had always thought that racing had always been a Velshtein's first love. Dew only watched patiently as she attempted to form those words with her lips.

"I thought that after today's terrible race that you wouldn't want to have dinner anymore," she finally managed, fresh tears pooling in her eyes at the thought of Dew being upset with her. The aforementioned defender blinked at her before shaking his head with a small smile.

"Oh Carmen, dearest Carmen, you are far more important than some race," Dew said softly as he placed both his hands on her cheeks and tilted her head up so that he could look her in the eyes. "I would hate to think that I have ever made you think otherwise," he said smiling warmly at her surprised expression.

"Do you really mean that mon amour?" Carmen whispered as a smile spread across her face. Pleased by her reaction, Drew tilted her head to the side lightly to plant a soft kiss on her cheek.

"Always," he said, proud of the light blush that colored the female defender's cheeks. "Come on my dear, let's go enjoy our dinner," Dew said reaching over to open the passenger car door for her. Carmen beamed at his display of chivalry before releasing his hands and slipping into the car for a night of relaxation with the Velshtein defender.

_**-IGPX-**_

"Oh man, what am I going to do?" Aiden sighed as he paced back and forth in the hallway outside the locker room. Things had gone from bad to worse in the after-race meeting; Tony actually stormed out in the middle of Mr. Zeker's 'winning-isn't-everything' speech.

"The whole teams breaking apart over this one race," Aiden muttered as he stopped pacing in front of a vending machine in the hall. "I need a soda, something cool to clear my head," he said taking out some loose changed. After counting out the right amount of change, Aiden inserted it into the vending machine and pressed the button for a cola. After taking the soda out of the compartment, he snapped the can open and took a sip of the cola.

"Man that's good," Aiden sighed as he turned to leave the hallway, taking another swing of his soda as he rounded the corner and crashed into a figure that was rushing by.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" a feminine voice gasped as Aiden blinked down at the girl, before blinking in surprise.

"Jesse? Jesse Martin?" he said as he reached out to help the brown haired girl to her feet. Jesse snapped her head up in surprise before beaming up at the Team Berserker midfielder.

"Aiden! It's really you!" she cried as she stood up far too quickly, nearly crashing into Aiden's chest. The aforementioned pilot chuckled lightly at her enthusiasm as he placed his free hand on her shoulder to steady her.

"Easy Jesse, we don't want you getting hurt now love," he smiled down at her, causing a light blush to spread across Jesse's cheeks. "I haven't seen you since high school, how have you been? I see you still get horribly red when I call you love," Aiden teased as Jesse laughed.

"Yeah I know! It's great to see you again!" Jesse smiled as the two continued to walk down the hall in the direction Jesse had originally been walking. "Congratulations by the way. I can't believe you went from being our classes Valedictorian to becoming a pilot. Your team is even in the IG-1," she said. "That's so cool." Aiden laughed lightly at her enthusiasm as he scratched his cheek nervously.

"Yeah, it is pretty cool I guess," he chuckled as he took a sip of his soda. "So why are you here? You aren't a pilot are you?" he asked after swallowing his drink, glancing down at her.

"Oh! I work as Miss Satomi's assistant and help out the team," Jesse smiled as Aiden blinked down at her before sighing sadly. Jesse's smile was quickly replaced by a concerned frown at his reaction to her news. "Aiden? What's wrong?" she asked placing a hand on his arm to get his attention. The midfielder blinked before looking down at her.

"It's nothing Jesse," he said gently. "But after that loss hearing the name Satomi is kind of, spirit crushing, I guess," he sighed, not catching Jesse's thoughtful expression as she pulled them to a stop in front of an office door in the IGPX building. "Jesse? What is it?" Aiden asked before jumping in surprise as his old classmate clapped her hands together.

"Why don't we grab something to eat?" she smiled up at him, only increasing Aiden's confusion. "I just need to put a few papers away and grab my bag. What do you say?" Jesse said with a hopeful expression. Aiden's confused expression quickly slipped into a boyish grin.

"Sure Jesse, I'd love them," he said as he watched the Satomi employee light up as if it were Christmas.

"Great!" Jesse cheered. "Just wait here while I go finish up," she said rushing into the office door they'd stopped at. Aiden watched her go, looking far too happy for a pilot who'd just lost a major race.

_**-IGPX-**_

"You know, when I said talk like civilized people, I really did mean the part about talking," Cunningham commented lightly as the two pilots drove in silence. Juliet sat next to him in the passenger seat, choosing to stare out at the city lights instead of engaging the IGPX veteran in conversation. Cunningham resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her childish behavior as he turned his attention back to the road in front of them.

'It's not that I don't want to talk to you,' Juliet thought as she glanced sideways at Cunningham every few seconds. 'I just don't know what to say to you,' she thought before letting out a sigh. Cunningham resisted the urge to smirk at her expression as they drove in silence for a few more moments before he spoke up again.

"I guess if you're going to react this way to one loss then you really aren't worth my efforts as a pilot," he said arrogantly, pretending not to notice the way Juliet twitched in irritation. The Team Berserker forward slammed her hand against the window before turning to glare at Cunningham.

"Dammit you don't know a thing about me you bastard!" she growled glaring at him. "I'm not quiet because of the race! I'm quiet because you are so freaking frustrating!" she snapped as the continued to glare at Cunningham, who kept his eyes on the road before smirking as he glanced over at her.

"So I have to insult you to get your attention," he commented lightly, ignoring Juliet's confused expression. "But at least you said something, I thought you'd never speak up," Cunningham said as Juliet blinked at her before sighing and sitting back in her chair.

"Sometimes you are such a jerk," she muttered turning to look out the window again.

"Only sometimes?" Cunningham said with mock astonishment. "I must be losing my touch," he smirked as the corner of Juliet's twitched up slightly at Cunningham's humor. "Well well, that almost looks like a smile," Cunningham said glancing over at her as he eased the car to a stop at a red light.

"You are so weird," Juliet sighed before she reached forward and turned the radio on, searching for the report on the latest races. As if reading her mind, Cunningham reached over and gently brushed her hand out of the way.

"Here, I know the station by heart," he said, Juliet resisted the urge to blush at the feeling of their fingers touching.

"Yeah okay, whatever," she mumbled looking out the window as Cunningham turned the dial to the right station, Benjamin Bright's voice blaring over the radio.

"And that's all for the Satomi-Berserker race! In related news, Team Edgeraid was forced to forfeit their match against Team Sledge Mamma earlier today because Team Edgeraid's midfielder Bella Demarco was attacked before the race and has been hospitalized because of the serious injuries she sustained. I'm Benjamin Bright and I'm here to keep you updated on any news regarding the IG-1 and its teams!"

Juliet and Cunningham stared at the radio in shock, both failing to notice that the red light had turned to green before they heard a storm of honking coming from the cars behind them. Cunningham wasted no time as he stepped on the gas pedal, driving past the light without a second thought, Juliet reaching forward to switch the radio off.

After a moment of silence, Juliet turned her attention away from the radio towards the tense Team Velshtein forward.

"Cunningham?" she mumbled after a moment, snapping the pilot out of his silence as he glanced over at her.

"Yes Juliet?" Cunningham said, catching the fearful look in the younger pilot's eyes. Juliet licked her lips nervously before glancing up at him.

"What's going on? Why would someone attack an IG-1 pilot?" she asked, her voice shaking slightly at the thought of being attack. Cunningham studied her expression for a few moments before turning her gaze back to the road ahead of them.

"I don't know Juliet, but I'm going to find out," he said calmly as he drove down the dark, city roads.

_**To. Be.**_** Continued.**

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><p>So things are starting to get interesting! Did any of you see the idea of Aiden and Jesse already knowing each other coming, cause even I didn't, and I'm the author!<p>

Oh! And in case any of you are curious about the pilots' ages and nationalities, Juliet is 18 and she's American. Aiden is 19 and he's British, although he studied in the US which is how he met Jesse. And Carmen is 21 and French, in case you guys couldn't already tell that.

Also I've noticed there was only one vote in the poll I put up, thank you singular voter whoever you are! I'll wait until I upload the next chapter before I write a chapter in the perspective of the most popular forward so you guys better get voting!

That's all for now I guess! Read and review!

Bye!

zzz589zzz


	5. Chapter 5

****Hey everyone! It's FINALLY here! The latest TIF chapter! I am SO sorry that this took forever guys! But I will TRY to update sooner now that it's summer, I promise! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own IGPX or any of the IGPX's characters. I do however own the rights to the members of Team Berserker, the pilots AND the crew.

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><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

A Night with Cunningham

"What the hell is going on Mr. Zeker?!" Juliet St. Marc hissed into her cell phone as she sat in her apartment, curled up on the sitting room couch. After Cunningham had offered to drive the other forward home, the two had listened to some shocking news on Cunningham's car radio. Another pilot had been attacked; a race had been forfeited. As soon as they'd entered Juliet's apartment, the Berserker pilot had pulled out her phone and had called up the team owner.

"I'm not sure Juliet, none of us are," Mr. Zeker said calmly on the other end of the line. "The police are looking into it. But that aside, are you home? Are you safe?" he asked with slight concern. Juliet frowned slightly at the question as she glanced over to the far end of her apartment kitchen, where Cunningham had gone to call his own team owner to discuss the situation.

"Uh, yeah. I'm home, I've got a friend over so I'm pretty safe," she said, wincing at the term she'd used to describe the male with her, turning away from her view of the other pilot. 'If you can really call being left alone with Cunningham safe,' she thought as she picked at the hem of her shirt.

"Well that's perfect," Mr. Zeker's relieved voice came from the other end. "You stay exactly where you are and lock all of the doors and windows. We don't want anything happening to you," he said. Juliet nodded slightly, before realizing the old business man couldn't see her, and voiced her reply. Satisfied, Mr. Zeker hung up the phone, leaving Juliet with just the dial tone on the other end of the line. Juliet sighed at the sound before she snapped her phone shut as well, hugging the throw pillow nearest to her.

'What am I going to do,' she thought as she tugged at the pillow's material. The news on the car radio had given Juliet some serious chills. Who on earth would attack an IG-1 pilot? And better yet why? The female forward chewed on her lower lip as a thousand questions and no answers ran through her head. She was so absorbed in thought that she didn't noticed the Velshtein pilot come out of the kitchen and stand behind her couch.

"What did Mr. Zeker say?" Cunningham asked casually, his deep, unexpected voice jolting Juliet out of her thoughts as she snapped her head back to look at the man. Cunningham blinked at her suddenly shocked expression before raising an eyebrow, waiting for her reply. Juliet huffed with annoyance at him, which just amused the other pilot even more, before she sat up properly on the couch.

"He told me to stay put and to lock all of the doors and windows," she said turning halfway to face him; she didn't feel comfortable having her back to the Velshtein ace. The bane of her existence simply smirked down at her before stepping around the couch and taking a seat on the nearest arm rest.

"Funny. Sir Hamgra said the exact same thing," Cunningham said casually as he glanced over at her. Juliet took a moment to absorb his words and get their meaning before she scooted back on the couch, away from the other forward.

"Oh no! No, not happening!" Juliet said shaking her head wildly, not missing the highly amused expression on Cunningham's face.

"Now Juliet, you and I both know it's not wise to argue against a direct order. I couldn't have possibly refused," the Velshtein forward said with a smug smirk on his face. Juliet glared at him in return as she sat up on her knees.

"I said no, as in no. As in, you aren't allowed to stay here, no. As in, get out!" she said in one breath before flinging the pillow she'd been holding at the other pilot's face. Cunningham simply caught the pillow before it hit him and set it down on the couch casually.

"How harsh, St. Marc. Are you saying you wouldn't feel responsible if I were attacked out on the streets right now?" he said in mock horror, raising an incredulous eyebrow as he addressed Juliet. The younger pilot blinked up at him in shock as his words hit her full force before she bit her lower lip and glanced away. A moment of silence passed between them before Juliet turned back to the other forward.

"Okay, you can stay," she mumbled after a moment. "But no funny business, got it?!" she snapped glaring at him. Cunningham smiled slowly before he nodded his agreement.

"I wouldn't dare," he said, a full on grin spreading across his face.

_**-IGPX-**_

'I don't think I've ever seen such an impressive person act so useless.'

That was the main thought running through Juliet's mind as she observed the Velshtein forward in her kitchen. If she hadn't known better, she could've sworn that the older, suave, self-confident pilot had been replaced with an ignorant child.

Alex 'Cunningham' Hume, the Ghost of Team Velshtein, did not know how to use a can opener. He was standing at her kitchen counter, holding a can of food in one hand and the can opener in the other. After a moment of looking between the two items, the older pilot set them both down and turned to the young lady sitting on the island counter top behind him.

"Juliet, how on earth do you survive in this house," he said with a deadpan expression. The female pilot blinked back at him as a moment of brief silence passed between the two before she let out a deep sigh and hopped off her counter top seat.

"For an accomplished adult man with a significant career, you sure are useless," she said casually before she gestured for him to move aside with her hand. Cunningham frowned down at the younger pilot as he stepped aside to give her access to the items on the counter.

"I'm not useless. Who on earth needs to know how to use a can opener and prepare a meal? That's what staff is for," he stated as Juliet rolled her eyes at his superior tone. She set the can opener at the lid of the tin can and quickly turned the dial, easily removing the lid in a matter of seconds before she moved over to her kitchen sink to drain out the excess liquid in the can.

"Well I'm sorry your highness, you may have millions of dollars that you can toss around as you see fit, but some of us can't afford an expensive household staff," she said sarcastically, setting the can aside before opening a bottom cabinet and pulling out a kettle, moving to fill it with sink water. 'Hell, I can barely afford this apartment on a rookie pilot's salary,' she thought, mentally shooting daggers at the older pilot behind her.

"That's right, I forgot you aren't that much of a high ranking pilot," Cunningham smirked behind her as he took a seat at the kitchen island. "You probably barely make rent with your salary," he said as he watched Juliet's hair practically bristle in irritation at his words, which nearly mimicked her own thoughts, before she angrily set a now full kettle down on the stove.

"Are you trying to pick a fight with me Cunningham?!" she snapped glaring back at him. The aforementioned Velshtein pilot hid his smirk behind the palm of his hand as he rested his elbow on the island counter top and nestled his chin in his palm.

"I wouldn't dream of it St. Marc," he practically cooed in reply, Juliet's irritated face turning bright red in anger and embarrassment. She opened her mouth to snap back a reply, but thought better as she closed it. Taking a deep breath, the Berserker pilot calmed herself down before pointing a finger at the Velshtein pilot.

"You, get out of my kitchen," she said calmly, trying not to react to the surprised yet amused expression on the older pilot's face. "Go to the sitting room, turn on the TV and see if there's any news regarding the attack on Team Edgeraid," she said before pointing at the sitting room to emphasize her point. The Velshtein forward's amused expression sobered slightly at the mention of the concerning attack before getting up from his seat and turning to the sitting room.

"Whatever you say, dear," he said slowly, managing to get one last irritating comment in with a smirk before heading into the sitting room. It took all of Juliet's inner strength not to chuck the previously discarded can opener at the Velshtein forward's head as she watched him leave the kitchen.

The Berserker pilot turned back to the kettle she'd set down, turning on the gas stove to boil the water she'd filled the kettle with. As she moved towards her kitchen pantry to get the rest of the ingredients she needed for dinner, she turned her thoughts away from the annoying male in her apartment and back to the IG-1 issues that had arisen that night.

'What's going on?' she thought with a frown as she grabbed three packets, two for Cunningham and one for herself, of ramen noodles, which happened to be one of the most appetizing food staples she could afford. 'I mean I can understand my mech acting up during a race, which could just be a mechanical error. But a pilot getting attacked and hospitalized before a race?' Juliet frowned at the odd timing of the two unassociated events as she pulled out a bag of pre-chopped vegetables from her fridge, setting them on the counter next to the noodle packages.

'Well there's nothing I can do about Demarco getting attacked,' she thought as she pulled out two soup bowls from the upper kitchen cabinets, setting all of her remaining ingredients aside as she leaned against the counter, waiting for the water to come to a boil. 'For now I should just focus on talking to Boku about the mechs and trying to figure out why they were lagging against Team Satomi.'

A moment of silence settled in the apartment; Juliet could barely hear the sound of the TV in the other room, and she hadn't heard Cunningham make a sound the entire time he'd been in the sitting room.

'He's probably fine,' she thought after a moment's hesitation, shaking her head to ward off any concerned thoughts she may have for the Velshtein forward's safety, the kettle whistling lightly. The female forward reached over and turned the stove knob until the flames turned off. Maneuvering all her prepared ingredients around, she managed to prepare two makeshift ramen meals in a matter of minutes, pouring the boiling water into both of the now ingredient filled bowls before placing a plate on top of each bowl to use as a make-shift lid.

'That should do, for now,' Juliet nodded as she stepped away from the bowls to venture into the living room to find the silent Velshtein forward.

"Hey Cunningham, the foods almost re-," she began before pausing at the scene in front of her. The TV was turned on to the local news; a scene from the aftermath of the earlier attack was playing on the screen. The Edgeraid midfielder, Demarco, was being wheeled into an ambulance on a stretcher. Cunningham sat silently on the couch facing the TV, supporting his elbows on his knees as his fingers locked together. His expression was serious as he listened to a city police officer tell reporters that they would find the culprit before anyone else, especially any other pilots, got hurt. The two watched the screen in silence together before Juliet turned to watch Cunningham.

"What do you think will happen?" she asked softly after a moment, her earlier irritation with the Velshtein forward gone after watching the sobering broadcast. The other pilot sat in silence for a moment before reaching for the TV remote that was placed on the coffee table in front of him; he turned off the TV, stood up and turned to the younger pilot.

"They're going to catch whoever did this, and we're going to keep racing," Cunningham said, looking down at Juliet with steady, blue eyes. "It's as simple as that," he said. The Berserker forward wanted to snap at the older man; issues like this didn't just go away, but she couldn't bring herself to insult the words that were, she realized, supposed to reassure her. Juliet turned her own, dark brown eyes to stare into Cunningham's blue ones for a moment, looking for any hint of worry or hesitation, before sighing.

"Of course, you're right," she admitted after a moment, turning her face away as she headed back to the kitchen. "Come on, let's eat."

_**-IGPX-**_

"That had to be the cheapest meal I've ever eaten," Cunningham commented after he set his now empty soup bowl back down on the island in the center of the kitchen. Juliet glared over at him, her previous irritation back, as she set her own half empty soup bowl down as well.

"If I'd known you'd complain about the food, I would've kicked you out a while ago," she glowered before going back to slurping up her noodles, ignoring the Velshtein forward's disapproving glance at her eating habits.

"You know," he commented lightly, "a young lady should never slurp her noodles like that." Juliet glanced over at the older pilot for a moment, her eyebrows rising at the statement, before she shrugged her shoulders and finished off the last of her dinner.

"Well then, it's a good thing I'm an IG-1 pilot and not a young lady," she said once she'd finished her meal. The Berserker forward resisted the urge to smirk at the older man's slightly surprised and annoyed expression, before she reached forward and took Cunningham's empty bowl, stacking it on top of her own and heading towards the sink. Turning the water on over the dirty dishes, the younger pilot turned away from her housework to look at her companion, crossing her arms in thought.

"What am I going to do with you for the rest of the night?" she mumbled observing the man in front of her. She wasn't all that comfortable with him spending his evening here, but she couldn't throw him out now, not with a criminal on the loose in the city streets. The Velshtein forward raised an eyebrow at her question before getting up from the stool he had been sitting on at the island, going over to stand by the Berserker pilot at the sink.

"Why Ms. St. Marc, I had no idea you had such intentions when you agreed to let me spend the night," Cunningham smirked, resting a hand on the edge of the sink as he looked down at Juliet, his eyes smoldering with amusement and a hint of something the younger pilot couldn't quite identify. The Berserker forward blinked up at him for a moment, confused, before her words caught up with her and her cheeks turned a bright red, her jaw dropping at the implication behind her earlier question and his interpretation.

"That's not! I didn't! What?!" she gaped as she stumbled away from him and the sink, nearly running into the kitchen island in the process. Cunningham's teasing expression broke into a momentarily surprised look at her sudden escape, before watching her flail away from him. The two pilots paused, Juliet's cheeks still bright red and Cunningham's face going from surprised to a grin before putting his fist to his mouth, trying to suppress the obviously amused laughter that was threatening to rise out of him. Juliet blinked up at his clearly entertained expression with a look of pure horror on her own face before glaring up at him and turning to storm out of the kitchen.

"You're lucky I'm letting you sleep on the couch! Jerk!" she snapped, still flushed, as Cunningham let his amused laughter free for the first time that night.

_**-IGPX-**_

After a good degree of arguing, with Juliet supplying most of the anger and Cunningham most of the amusement and reassurance, the two pilots finally settled down and decided it would be wisest to turn in for the night. The Berserker forward had all but sealed her bedroom door shut with cement when she finally retired to her room, having provided the older man with some sheets and pillows for his makeshift bed. She shook her head with a sigh as she rummaged through her drawers and pulled out her usual nighttime attire, a pair of shorts and an over-sized t-shirt, before she stepped into her small bathroom and cleaned up for the night. A few minutes later, she crawled into bed as quickly as she could and pressed her face into her pillows, tugging the thick comforter closer around her to keep warm.

'He better not try anything funny while I'm sleeping,' the young pilot thought before letting her eyes slip shut with a sigh, letting her exhaustion take over as she drifted off into sleep.

Outside in the sitting room, Cunningham sat wide awake on the now sheet and pillow covered couch, mobile phone in hand. He'd removed his shirt after he was sure Juliet wasn't going to leave her room, not wanting to drive the young lady too far up a wall so late in the night. After scrolling through the IG-1 news on the web application of his phone, the Velshtein pilot sighed at the lack of new information on the attack before he returned to the main menu screen and tapped the call application instead; dialing the first number he in his address book before leaning back into the couch.

"Hey, it's me," he said softly, not wanting to alert the pilot in the other room of his conversation. "I need someone to bring me a bag with a change of clothes and some necessary toiletries to the location I had you find tomorrow morning, the earlier the better." After listening to the caller's reply Cunningham turned to lay on the couch, placed his free hand behind his head as he rested against a pillow.

"Don't worry about that, just have someone bring it and I'll meet them in the building lobby, early," he said before hanging up and setting his phone on the coffee table near the couch. The older pilot sighed as he looked back on the night, Juliet's flushed expression lingering in his mind as he chuckled and rolled onto his side, tugging the sheets he'd been given up around his bare torso.

"Things just got a whole lot more interesting," he said quietly with a smirk before closing his eyes, turning in for the night.

_**-IGPX-**_

"Juliet? Get up Juliet."

The female forward groaned at the deep voice that was trying to wake her so early in the morning. She decided, in her sleep deprived mental state, that the sound trying to wake her was not her alarm clock, which sounded like a deranged bird and not a handsome man, before she rolled over to resume her pleasant dreams.

"Come on St. Marc, who knew you were so lazy," the smooth voiced teased with a chuckle as Juliet's neutral, closed eyed expression turned into a closed eyed frown.

'I must be dreaming. Attractive male voices only sound like this in my dreams,' she thought tiredly as she nuzzled deeper into her sheets with a sigh.

"Go away attractive sounding dream voice," she mumbled tiredly. "I already have one handsome but infuriating man sleeping in my living room and I don't need another trying to ruin my REM sleep." The dream voice paused for a moment as Juliet mentally cheered her little victory, before it chuckled.

"So I'm handsome and infuriating? That's nice to know," it cooed, obviously amused. The female forward's mental victory dance died in an instant as she realized how familiar the dream voice sounded and how it had replied to her statement. Juliet's eyes snapped opened as she came face to face with the bane of her existence, Cunningham.

The man was standing at the edge of her bed, leaning over with a smirk on his face and a hand on her comforter covered shoulder in an attempt to wake her up. He was dressed in a clean pair of khakis and a teal polo shirt and he smelled so unbelievably clean that Juliet's cheeks colored pink in shame when she caught herself involuntarily sniffing his cologne. If she hadn't been so shocked by his appearance, Juliet would've snapped at him the minute she opened her eyes. Instead she stared at him, in shock, for a good few seconds before scooting away to the other edge of the bed to get as far from the male pilot as physically possible.

"Why are you in my room?!" the Berserker forward hissed up at the man as she yanked her comforter closer around her body, as if that would somehow protect her from any perverse thoughts he was projecting onto her. Cunningham raised his eyebrows at her protective tone and posture before pulling out his phone and handing it to her with a superior expression.

"Well," he said as Juliet tentatively reached for the mobile phone. "I received a message this morning asking all IG-1 pilots to come to the pilot viewing box at the racing tracks for a briefing on last night's attack. I thought it'd be best to wake you, so we wouldn't be late." Juliet scanned through the message before she did a double take at the time of the meeting before checking the current time on the phone.

"Oh my God this meeting starts in less than an hour!" she gasped as she tossed the phone back to Cunningham and nearly jumped out of her bed towards her dresser. "Why didn't you wake me sooner?!" she snapped rummaging through her clothes for a decent outfit. Cunningham chuckled at her frantic behavior before he noticed her sleep ware and smirked.

'Well now, I could get used to looking at those legs,' he thought as his eyes traveled up the female pilots body, from her bare legs to the loose t-shirt that hung on her slim frame. Juliet's skin prickled at the feeling of being watched as she frowned at the other pilot's silence as she grabbed a pair of black skinny jeans and a red camisole.

"What, no witty comebacks?" she said turning to smirk at the pilot only to notice the way he was watching her; the odd, warm look he had in his eyes was identical to the look he'd given her in the kitchen after dinner the previous night. The two forwards stared at each other before Cunningham smirked at Juliet's surprised expression, breaking whatever had just happened between them. The Berserker forward flushed in response before hurrying into her bathroom.

"Get out of my room, you pervert!" she snapped over her shoulder, in a final attempt to regain any dignity she'd lost through the encounter, before slamming the restroom door shut behind her, pretending not to hear Cunningham's amused laughter on the other side of the door.

_**-IGPX-**_

The drive to the racing track was surprisingly quiet. Neither pilot felt like speaking, they both seemed to feel that the upcoming IG-1 meeting was far too serious to merit any kind of teasing on Cunningham's part or sarcasm on Juliet's. In fact, the only thing the two forwards did do was glance at one another occasionally; Juliet was still shaken from the events of last night and the odd encounter that morning and she'd look over to the more experienced pilot for reassurance, and Cunningham would supply just that with his own glances.

The odd but calming silence lasted all the way until they'd parked in front of the tracks and had headed into the main stadium building. The female pilot frowned as a sudden thought hit her as she reached out to stop the Velshtein pilot. Cunningham paused as he felt Juliet's hand on his arm before glancing down at her.

"Yes Juliet? What's wrong?" he asked as he noticed her frown with a curious look. Juliet glanced up at him for a moment before her frown deepened.

"I just realized people are going to get the wrong idea if we walk in together so early in the morning," she said, blinking her dark brown eyes up at the man. Cunningham stared down at the now visibly irritated forward before a grin spread across his face, pleased that Juliet's off topic train of thought had shifted the atmosphere from serious to casual in a matter of seconds. The older man turned his arm over so he could grip Juliet's hand in his own before he brought it up to his lips.

"Who on earth said they'd be getting the wrong idea?" he teased with a smirk before placing a kiss on the inside of her wrist, the female forward's face flushing scarlet as she gaped at the Velshtein forward's actions. Suddenly, before Juliet could blow up at the older man, the elevator doors in the building's main lobby opened and a familiar face stepped out.

"Juliet?" Aiden blinked in surprise as he observed the oddly romantic scene in front of him. The Berserker forward snapped her head to the side to look at him before quickly yanking her hand out of a slightly surprised Cunningham's grip; she turned towards her teammate quickly as she looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"I can explain," she said quickly as Aiden's surprised expression turned into a disapproving frown before he crossed his arms over his chest and stared his forward down.

"Great, cause I'm all ears." Juliet visibly squirmed at the response as she glanced between a clearly amused Cunningham and an obviously unhappy Aiden, before sighing as a single, unpleasant thought ran through her mind.

'Why does this always happen to me?'

_**To. Be. Continued. **_

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><p>Oh man, didn't Aiden pick one heck of a moment to show up? I'm really sorry there wasn't much racing action in this one, but that will come soon, no worries. This is, after all, IGPX.<p>

On a different note, since the position for favorite forward was a three way tie, I'll be writing the next chapter from three different points of view: Juliet's, Cunningham's and Takeshi's. However, I won't be writing 'Cunningham's POV' right before the section or anything like that. But you WILL be able to tell which character is the narrator in each section, it'll be fairly obvious.

Thanks for all of the support you guys! I was really touched by how many views this story has gotten and I hope you guys keep coming back to the very end! Love you guys!

Please Read and Review.

And tune in next time for the next chapter of The Immortal Flame!

Lots of Love~

zzz589zzz


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